Local Ukrainian leader calls for sanctions against Ukraine

An activist closes a victim's eyes while others pay respects to protesters who were killed in clashes with police in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. Fierce clashes between police and protesters in Ukraine's capital have shattered the brief truce Thursday and an Associated Press reporter has seen dozens bodies laid out on the edge of the protest encampment. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Activists pay respects to protesters killed in clashes with police, during clashes with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. The flag held by one activist at rear reads 'For Ukraine.' Fierce clashes between police and protesters in Ukraine's capital have shattered the brief truce Thursday and an Associated Press reporter has seen dozens bodies laid out on the edge of the protest encampment. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

As Kiev burns and as many as 100 protesters lie dead after violent clashes with security police on Thursday, a local Ukrainian leader is playing a role on the international stage in pushing for an end to the violence through sanctions against the Ukrainian government and diplomatic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Borys Potapenko, vice president of the International Council in Support of Ukraine, co-authored a statement that called for sanctions against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych and criminal charges to be filed in international tribunals against those Ukrainian officials responsible for the escalation of the violent crackdown.

A similar statement issued by the Warren-based Ukrainian Congress Committee of America-Michigan Chapter said a human rights mission should be sent to the capital city to monitor developments in the bloody clashes between police in riot gear and protesters hurling bricks and homemade fire bombs. Some estimates put the number of wounded at up to 1,000.

“There is more rage than sorrow,” in the local Ukrainian-American community, said Potapenko, who is past president and an active board member for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. “This is something very personal to us, even those who are second or third generation. I know people who are getting on flights to go over there this weekend.”

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Hours after the two statements were issued by the national and international Ukrainian groups, with TV reports showing fiery, gruesome clashes in Kiev’s Maidan, or Independence Square, the European Union took action. Foreign ministers who gathered at an emergency meeting in Brussels unanimously approved sanctions against the Ukrainian government, including a travel ban to the 28-nation bloc and the freezing of assets held in EU countries.

The sanctions will target “those responsible for human rights violations, violence and use of excessive force” in Ukraine, the EU said in a statement.

“It may be a little bit late and a little bit short,” said Potapenko, a Troy resident and a former longtime director of the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren. “But I think (EU and U.S.) sanctions should be put in place because it would send a tangible signal from the West.”

The national Ukrainian group’s statement was co-authored by Myron Fedoriw of Royal Oak. Local Ukrainians sent three large shipments of medical equipment to Kiev by plane on Thursday. A makeshift hospital set up in a cathedral near Independence Square was treating wounded protesters, though they lacked medical supplies.

Pitched battles broke out in the streets of downtown Kiev, with protesters tossing rocks and firebombs at police under a sky blackened by smoke from their burning barricades. According to CNN, at least one protester fired toward police lines with a shotgun. Security forces, with the help of pro-government attackers in street clothes, appeared to fight back with live ammunition from automatic weapons and sniper fire, in addition to rifle-fired rubber bullets and brutal beatings.

In Washington, three resolutions that have passed in Congress over the past two months offer varying degrees of support for U.S. sanctions against the former Soviet state, such as financial penalties against Ukraine and a halt to travel visas. The Senate on Thursday, with some lawmakers denouncing President Obama’s cautious approach, seemed ready to move forward.

Potapenko and his colleagues also seek strong U.S. condemnation of Putin, who has helped prop up the Yanukovych government in an attempt to keep it in the Russian orbit. The demonstrators, who denounce Ukraine’s government corruption and strong-arm tactics, began their protests in November when the parliament rejected plans to pursue the first steps toward entrance into the EU.

Some geopolitical observers suggest that dramatic event to show support for Ukraine may play out in Sochi, Russia, before this weekend’s conclusion of the Winter Olympics.

Encouraging signs for the protesters include about 30 pro-Yanukovych members of parliament who have fled the country, along with the president’s family. In addition, some of the nation’s business leaders, the oligarchs, have indicated that they now support the protest movement.

On Thursday, a raucous parliament broke out in fights before voting to withdraw security forces from Independence Square. It’s unclear how Yanukovych may respond.

“What we’re seeing is that Yanukovych has given up on any trappings of a democratic system. This indicates that all bets are off and the government is no longer a government,” said Potapenko, a liaison between the large Ukrainian community in Canada and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “It’s quite extraordinary what is happening. We could see this revolt escalate into a full-scale revolution.”

A prayer vigil will be held for the killed and wounded protesters in Kiev will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at St. Josephat Church, 26440 Ryan, just south of I-696, in Warren. A rally to support the protesters will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 26601 Ryan, also located just south of I-696 in Warren.

Activists pay respects to protesters killed in clashes with police, during clashes with riot police in Kiev’s Independence Square, the epicenter of the country’s current unrest, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. The flag held by one activist at rear reads ‘For Ukraine.’ Fierce clashes between police and protesters in Ukraine’s capital have shattered the brief truce Thursday and an Associated Press reporter has seen dozens bodies laid out on the edge of the protest encampment. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Activists extinguish a tree which caught fire at the burning barricades close to Independence Square, the epicenter of the country’s current unrest, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. Fierce clashes between police and protesters in Ukraine’s capital have shattered the brief truce Thursday and an Associated Press reporter has seen dozens bodies laid out on the edge of the protest encampment. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

An activist closes a victim’s eyes while others pay respects to protesters who were killed in clashes with police in Kiev’s Independence Square, the epicenter of the country’s current unrest, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. Fierce clashes between police and protesters in Ukraine’s capital have shattered the brief truce Thursday and an Associated Press reporter has seen dozens bodies laid out on the edge of the protest encampment. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)